Gulf Shores will get a taste of one of Alabama’s most storied music traditions this weekend when the Hangout Oyster Cook-Off closes out its festivities with a live tribute to the Muscle Shoals sound. Jimmy Hall and the Muscle Shoals All-Stars are scheduled to take the Courtyard Stage on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 6:30 p.m., following the event’s awards ceremony.
The performance is being built around decades of music that came out of the Muscle Shoals area, a small stretch of the Tennessee River that became an unlikely hub for hit recordings starting in the late 1960s. Hall, a Grammy-nominated vocalist and longtime frontman for the Southern rock band Wet Willie, said the goal of the set is to give audiences an authentic feel for that sound rather than a simple greatest-hits run-through.
The planned setlist draws from artists closely associated with Muscle Shoals recording studios, including Wilson Pickett, Delbert McClinton and Eddie Hinton, along with a handful of Wet Willie songs and selections from Hall’s solo catalog. Hall said the strength of the backing musicians will be what sets the performance apart.
“With that full band, it brings a lot of stuff to life,” Hall said. “It’s a great production, and it’s a lot of fun. These guys are pros and so studio seasoned. You can hear that Muscle Shoals sound.”
Backing Hall will be a full horn section and vocal support from The Shoal Sisters, along with a lineup of musicians who built their reputations working out of Muscle Shoals studios. David Hood, a co-founder of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, will play bass; his session credits include work with Boz Scaggs, Aretha Franklin and Paul Simon. Keyboardist Clayton Ivey, known for his studio work with Randy Travis and Joss Stone, will also make the trip to the Gulf Shores stage. Guitar duties will be split between Will McFarlane, who has toured and recorded with Bonnie Raitt, and Kelvin Holly, whose credits include work with Gregg Allman and Bobby Bland.
“There’s a mass of people onstage,” Hall said. “It’s a full, full sound.”
The Gulf Shores show is one stop in a busy stretch for Hall, who has spent recent months touring with guitarist Jeff Beck and performing at festivals and charity events, including the Blue Star Connection benefit in Denver, which raises money to provide instruments to critically ill children. Hall said he contributes harmonicas to the event’s silent auction each year, alongside items donated by other musicians such as Joe Bonamassa.
Hall’s reputation as a frontman, built on a soulful vocal style along with his work on saxophone and harmonica, has made him a natural fit to lead a project built around honoring the Muscle Shoals legacy. Organizers are positioning the performance as a fitting close to the Hangout Oyster Cook-Off weekend, giving attendees a chance to hear Muscle Shoals history performed live on the Alabama coast.